Encounter: Breathe deeply and settle into a quiet space as you sit in the loving gaze of God. Listen to or read Exodus chapters 5 & 6. Take a few minutes to focus on 6:1-13 and read through three times asking the Holy Spirit to make you aware of a word or phrase that is important for you to reflect on.
In his book Exodus and Revolution, Michael Walzer shares three lessons we can all learn from the Exodus event of the Old Testament:
What the Exodus … taught: first, that wherever you live, it is probably Egypt. Second, that there is a better place, a world more attractive, a promised land. And third, that "the way to the land is through the wilderness."
And that is what God is up to in each of our lives. There is this principle that is echoed through God’s calling for us to BLESS; once God has led you out of your Egypt, you will be sent back into Egypt to lead others out. Because, as the incarnation teaches us in God coming to be with us in Jesus Christ, God moves through his people, created in His image, to fulfill his promises.
The lessons we can learn from the life of Moses are many but what we see is that the journey out of Egypt will always cause conflict between the darkness and the light of God, challenge us to put God at the center and always leads us to worship God and awaken us to the truth that we are not “only human.”
Theologian Peter Enns describes this so beautifully when he writes,
As Christians, we have been re-created in God’s image…to be human is not to be frail, weak or rebellious. These are marks of sin. To be human means to be the pinnacle of God’s creation. It is only after he created humanity that God said “very good” (Gen. 1:31) It was humans alone whom God created in his image. People were intended all along to be God-like in the world…We are here by design, we are here for a purpose…we have the obligation and privilege of telling a fallen world “Be all you can be.” We are the instruments used by God to bring the gospel that does not just save sinner–barely–but that is intended to blow apart the present system and replace it with one that is holy and lasting. Indeed that process has already begun–the tomb is empty.
As we follow God out of Egypt into the promised land, He calls us to speak with great courage to the forces that keep people oppressed, in bondage, abused and sick, “Let my people God so they can worship.” And then we hear God say, "Now you will see what I will do!
Walking with Moses,
Pastor T
Reflect: Do you have an “Egypt” you can name? We can also see this as a “long obedience in the same direction” as we follow Jesus, we become less like the culture and more like the re-created, transformed into God’s image kind of person he is forming you into.
Spiritual Practice: For the next 2 weeks; continue the Moses Walk and record the miles you are walking, what you are hearing through the scriptures. Be in prayer asking God is there someone who you are to help lead out of their Egypt. Remember, God says he is with you and will tell you what to say.
Gather: Take time to gather with family or friends and watch this special documentary “Out of Egypt” by Appian Media. You’ve watched some of their videos on our Bible Study Together app.
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